Best Western near McDonald’s (mile 342 + 1mi road walk each way) to Campsite at mile 358
I wanted, desperately, to feel refreshed when I woke up this morning, but that just wasn’t in the cards. When Keith wakes me up at 6 I’m deep in the middle of a dream in which I’ve just been ejected from the top of a sky scraper inside a rocket propelled elevator booth a la Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and am presumably about to fall to my death. For some reason in the dream I’m very accepting of my fate and choose to spend my remaining seconds trapped in this box with a middle aged man marveling at how beautiful the city is, and wishing I had gotten off on the second floor with the woman in the blue pant suit. Sadly, awake me is not nearly as serene and I mope around the room feeling tired and frustrated, bothered by little things like damp waistbands on shorts that haven’t fully dried. Ah hormones. At least there is free hot breakfast aka free coffee aka free life fuel.
In the lobby with three other hikers the conversation du jour is the 27 mile exposed waterless stretch that climbs over 8,000 feet between Cajon Pass and the next resupply town, Wrightwood. The general consensus is to pack out as much water as you can, dry camp one night and then have a short day into town the next day. I should say, this is the consensus between the majority of us, however one woman plans to do this stretch in three days despite not being able to carry enough water for three days. This immediately enrages me and I tell her it’s a foolish thing to do – not that this will impact her choice in the slightest.
Her cavalier attitude is one I’ve seen a lot on the trail. People who won’t carry an ice axe through the Sierra, not because they’ve seen the snow reports, but because they don’t know how to use one, so why bother. People without enough water heading into the desert relying on maybe stocked water caches. People without enough food because maybe there will be trail magic. Only thru hikers would refuse to carry the weight of the two most important things keeping us alive: food and water.
While the mentality that everything will work out is certainly a pleasant one, when hiking in remote areas without cell service this sort of attitude is what tends to get people hurt or killed. The frustrating reality is that many PCT hikers feel they are immune from easily preventable accidents. This hubris stands in direct contrast to the two rescues (both PCT hikers without enough water) and the one death (heart attack) that have already occurred in the short time since the season started. And those are just the ones we’ve heard about!
I grumble this all over in my head during the massive climb towards Wrightwood. Wondering if people really are as under prepared as it seems, or if I’m being a grumpy hormonal jerk. Probably both. But also, mother nature deserves real respect. Respect of the knowledge that she’ll wipe you off the face of the planet and not even notice.
Hi Kara & Kieth. My wife Marianne and I are really enjoying your blog. So many parts of this trail you are on has intersected my life over the years…….in many cases long before it was the PCT. I guess this is why your adventure has special meaning to me. We love your photos and are really looking forward to following your adventures to the “end of the line.” Stay safe out there.
Thank you so much Richard for your kind words!
To this post and regarding the hard-headed people you mentioned, I’d encourage you to just let others be others and to be the difference you’d like to see in them. It seems harsh but if someone doesn’t carry enough water for themselves, that’s their fault and their opportunity to learn a lesson. Try hard not to let that type of thing get to you. I’m catching up on the blog, keep it up!